4powells

I've lost about 60 lbs since starting cycling in March. I'm a fairly competitive person but I've been out of shape for a long time. When I was shopping for bikes, I intended to use it more for 3-4 mile trips around my local area, grocery store, etc. I found that I love it though, and I'm actually working on training for a Tri.

I bought a Specialized Crossroads Sport. A comfort/hybrid bike. I added a cadence meter in the last week and I try to keep at 80 rpm, but I've found that my comfortable natural pace is around 72 rpm. I ride between 15 and 20 miles a session for about 85 miles a week. I average about 14 mph but that's counting not pausing Strava for stops at intersections and lights and that always kills the time.

I'm looking ahead to my first Tri this fall. I still have a huge amount of weight to lose, easily another 75-80 lbs I can lose. I know that weight loss will increase my avg speed and it will couple well with my increased endurance and leg strength. I think I am doing pretty well for someone weighing over 300 lbs.

My question is this, all other things being equal, what sort of performance gains, if any, could I expect if I moved from this Hybrid/Comfort bike to a low end road cycle?

Any other tips, opinions or thoughts would be welcome as well.

cale

The move to a road style bike can help you improve your speed on the flats and downhills if you use the drops in the bars and practice keeping your body low for aerodynamic advantage. If you buy a road bike and ride on the tops all the time, you won't see much advantage and you might actually lose speed because the comfort features you like are missing.

A quick thought. If you do go the road bike route, make certain the wheels and frame are rated to support your weight. Many road bikes top out shy of 300 lbs. Getting durable wheels would be near the top of my list.

I was impressed with your commitment to cycling as you wrote in your report. Good luck as you move forward towards your goals.

4powells

Thanks. The bug is in me and it's not going anywhere. We even bought a house based on access to riding trails in our area.

For the record, I don't think I'd be comfortable in the drops quite yet, belly is sort of "in the way". I've ridden with my elbows on the bar of my bike to simulate this but the geometry of my bike doesn't really make this work really well. I will probably be down into the 260 area before I make the switch. I'll be doing this first tri with my Crossroads Sport for sure.

Homebrew01

Looking at the specs, it says it has an adjustable stem, so you could tilt it down to get a bit closer to road bike fit. You could also put slightly skinnier, higher pressure tires on for slightly less rolling resistance. Equipment changes will make a miniscule difference compared to losing weight & gaining fitness. On the order of .1 % equipment, 99.9% engine.

Antonio_V

You will go faster with less effort on a road bike (You will notice this more on a carbon fibre frame). They are designed for speed and efficiency, built with power transfer in mind. Hybrids like your Crossroads tend to be less aero and often come with heavier components for riding not limited to the road.

unabowler

I had a similar hybrid a few years back when I bought my first road bike (which was an entry level Trek 1.5). I found right around a 10% difference on a couple of courses that I road where I was living at the time. I had a 10 mile route which I rode in 40 minutes on the hybrid and did it on the Trek just under 36. On a little longer course, I took 70 minutes on the hybrid and 62 and some seconds on the road bike. My effort was pretty comparable, and they were close in time so I was in about the same condition. Was there any placebo effect making me push harder? Maybe. But I think you'd get 1-2 mph improvement over the Specialized.

obed7

my son dropped from 330 lbs to 260 lbs and then got a road bike.
We do a 5 mile "sprint" together at lunch everyday...he picked up about 1.5 mph on his speed with the switch to the road bike....he still has a bit too much belly to ride the drops, so that is on the hoods.

ShortLegCyclist

First, Strava only calculates you average speed for "moving time" and does not count time you are waiting at stoplights, assuming you actually come to a stop and are not riding little slow circles in the bike line or something.

Second, what kind of shoes/pedals are you using? Both cadence and efficiency can be dramatically different with cleated "clipless" pedals and shoes, are you already using those?

bakes1

I was new to cycling and approx 235 lbs when I switched from my old Trek comfort bike to a new aluminum endurance bike (Specialized Secteur Elite) and I immediately gained 1-2 mph on my daily 15 mile ride.
My old Trek had wide knobby tires though so assume that was most of the difference?

jbarham

Couple of things you could do to the Specialized is switch to skinnier tires (23-25mm) and maybe put some aero bars so you can stretch out, which will improve your aerodynamics. Not sure how much time you'd gain, but it would probably be an improvement for relatively little investment. You'd still have the "belly" problem when switching to the aero bars but as long as there isn't a drop from the saddle to the bars it shouldn't be too bad. Getting your elbows out of the wind will really reduce drag.

Tim_Iowa

I'd advise against trying to ride 23 or 25 mm tires if you're above 300 pounds. You'd have to pump them to extremely high pressures, which would make for a very uncomfortable ride. And tires that skinny are no good on potholed pavement, or crushed gravel rec trails.

For a guy your size, 28 mm is probably a more reasonable minimum. If you buy high-end, supple tires, you can be just as fast on a 28 mm tire, or even bigger, like a 32 or 38 mm. Think better tires, not skinnier.

I was ~265 lbs when I got back in to cycling, now I'm ~220 lbs. What works for your stereotypical skinny roadie rider may not work for us larger types.

When you do look at road bikes, stay away from the aero and race machines, like the Tarmac/Allez or Venge. Look at the more relaxed road bikes like the Roubaix/Secteur, and look at "anyroad" "adventure" or "cross" bikes, like the Diverge, AWOL, or Crux. They'll have more comfortable geometry and can fit slightly wider tires, which are a benefit to a large person. They have most of the advantages of a road bike without the pain of a race machine.

I used Specialized models for examples, since you already have a relationship with a Specialized dealer. Most manufacturers make a spread of bikes with similar missions.

Keep it up, you're doing great!

Homebrew01

Good advice. Also, don't worry much about carbon vs aluminum frame etc. It's more about the style of bike being appropriate for the style of rider & riding.

Rowan

Are you sure about this, or is it device-dependent. Strava shows two times for me -- elapsed time and on-bike time and they correspond to the times I am off the bike or stopped.

Secondly, to the OP, a road bike won't improve your performance. Only you can do that by continuing to ride in a way that continually challenges your cardiovascular system and leg muscles, likely as per a structured training program.

A road bike will enable you to go faster for a given current level of effort, as pointed out in another post, but you will plateau at that speed unless you train to improve.

A road bike also can do one of two things: If the fit is excellent, and suits your current body type, it will be a pleasure to ride and that will encourage you to train; if the fit is off or bad, you won't want to ride at all, and the investment will be worthless.

pressed001

I think it is awesome that you are motivated. Keep it up! Make sure you take it slow. You're going to stress your body in ways it hasn't seen for a while. So, don't be too concentrated on loosing the weight. More, concentrate on being consequent. The weight will just be a nice bi-product of your healthy lifestyle.

As for the bike. Save cash, don't get a new bike. Get slimmer tires, I agree, not 23-25. As for what width exactly, I wouldn't know. You can probably keep the same width and swap to a high end tire with good road profile and loose a lot of resistance. Maybe a new wheelset would do you good. A deeper profile wheelset with good hubs would net you some saved energy (I'm thinking ultegra level hubs).

Concerning the drop bars, you probably wont see any benefit from them until you can use the drop position comfortably. Plus, when you want to do this, you need to get new shifters. And that aint free.

fietsbob

.0005%

MZilliox

Very good advice with the last point being the most significant tin my experience. Now that i own a fine road machine, I want to ride it, even right now as i type i'm thinking about my next ride on that machine. and they don;t have to cost a fortune. my fine road machine cost me 600 on the used market, and its damn fine.

Blue Belly

A good road bike should give you much better position for speed. It will also boost your confidence by adding that road race feel. How much faster? Right now, a little. But, the desire to really do more may lead you to reach higher goals. It's really up to you!

Hypno Toad

It is an advantage to be able to ride on the drops, but it may not be as big of an advantage as you'd think. Here some stats* I have for my 6 bikes over one Strava segment. This segment is on my daily commuting route and I've been across it more than 260 times, so it's a good sized sample.

Kona Dew Drop: Average: 15.6 mph; fastest: 22.2 mph; 82 attempts
Globe Daily: Average: 15.1 mph; fastest: 19.2 mph; 45 attempts
Felt Z85: Average: 18.8 mph; fastest: 24.5 mph; 34 attempts
Mondonico: Average: 19.2 mph; fastest: 21 mph; 5 attempts
Marin Nail Trail (SS): Average: 14.5 mph; fastest: 17.4 mph; 73 attempts
Surly Pugsley: Average: 13 mph; fastest: 16.3 mph; 23 attempts

I recommend focusing on two bikes, the Kona and the Globe. These bikes are very similar, both running 700x28 T-Serv tires, roughly the same weight, full fenders, and used for mostly commute rides (rain or shine). The biggest differences: the Kona has drop bars and more aggressive gearing, where the Globe has swept back bars and a single chain-ring. This is similar to the comparison you requested between a hybrid and a entry level road bike. You'll notice the difference in the fast speed based on the drop bars and gearing. However, with the average speed there is only a .5 mph difference.

I would focus on tires before replacing the bike. Work with your local bike shop to find narrower, lighter weight tires that will give you less rolling resistance. After that, the next big advantage will be riding on drop bars and getting an aero advantage. Don't bother getting a road bike if you will not be riding on the drops... riding on the hoods or on top will be exactly the same aero profile as riding on the hybrid with flat hybrid bars.

For your reference, here are the bikes I'm talking about - Left to Right: Kona Dew Drop, Mondonico, Felt Z85, Marin Nail Trail, Surly Pugsley, and Globe Daily.


*Footnote: Not all bikes see the same conditions, like the Felt never rides in the winter and Pugsley rarely rides the summer.

DeltaFoxtrtZulu

At what speed does the aerodynamic bit comes into things? I figure you've got to be going at least 15mph before it makes a difference.

The effect of gearing is one area I've not managed to find something comparing. How much is the effect of the road bike 2front, 8-11 rear change things compared to a bike like his with 3 front and 8 rear?

Homebrew01

A triple typically gives you a wider range of gears, compared to a double. You can plot them out on a gear chart if you know the specific tooth counts on the chainrings & cassettes.

Compact doubles, with a 34 or 36 small chainring can give a pretty wide range, so are often preferred over triples

4powells

Yes, and I have that setting enabled, but it doesn't always activate immediately and if I say cross halfway to the median and it starts again, long story short, I've seen it add 15-20 seconds to my time. But yeah, I'm not suggesting I'm going 20MPH but getting screwed down to 14 by Strava. It might cost me a 1/2 mph average over my whole ride. You should understand that I take local bike trails which have alot of crosswalks some of which I have no choice but to stop at.

4powells

That's sort of what I figured would be the case

4powells

This is one of the many things I am learning.

I have found the gears that work best for me where I live. Which is Florida, relatively flat with few inclines. I use the front middle chain ring and rear go from between 4-8 depending on the situation. I find that I used to be able to maintain my pace on flat terrain in 2 and 5 but I have since been able to do the same on 2 and 6.

I'm not really sure what my strategy is supposed to be here. I'm not using my front chain ring at all and think I'm doing something wrong.

Homebrew01

In Florida, you probably only need a few gears, so it would be common to have a few favorites that you use most of the time.
In my part of CT, there are lots of short hills,so I use the full range of gears.

quicktrigger

FWIW, I estimate that I get at most about a 10% performance increase on my Allez(28mm slick tires) vs my Sirrus (32mm tires). Really it's about +/- 1 MPH. My top average speeds are all when riding the Allez, any of them when I wasn't really trying. But when I want to tackle a new hill etc, I am riding the Sirrus due to the wider gearing. BTW, the difference between my mountain bike vs the Sirrus is larger.

QT